Errand of Mercy
I made the mistake of visiting an LA animal shelter unattended recently, and surprised my wife when I returned with three beat up old dogs. My original mission was to rescue a Pomeranian, “Daisy,” scheduled for execution after outliving her welcome at the shelter. Daisy is a 12-year old who was dumped off at the shelter to die after becoming inconvenient to her human. Anyone with a heart who has visited one of these urban kill shelters knows well that this is an unconscionably cruel end to the life of a dog who has given unconditional devotion to its human companion. The shelters are physically barren, scarce on medical attention and comfort, pervaded by the smell of urine and an atmosphere of fear and terrible sadness. The animals have been abandoned. They don’t know why. They just know they miss their humans terribly, even monsters like the one that gave up Miss Daisy.
The original plan was that my wife and I would simply be a stop on the rescue railroad for Daisy on her way to a foster home in Denver. While I was waiting at the shelter for Daisy to be fetched, a woman walked in the door with a tiny 10-year-old Norfolk Terrier named “Waif.” Waif had been adopted by the woman, who decided to return her because her vet found that Waif had too many medical problems. I watched the scene anxiously as the woman placed the little dog on the counter and discussed her predicament with the worker. Focused on the conversation, the woman was unaware that Waif, fully aware of her location, was attempting to hide in the woman’s arms. Ultimately, Waif was pried away from the woman and taken away. I had overheard that Waif had a serious heart murmur. Having lost a cherished old dog last year to congestive heart failure, I knew how Waif was going to die. There was no possible way I was going to allow that to happen in this horrible place. I told the staff that I wanted Waif. While I sat waiting for, now, two dogs, the worker told me, “y’know, she’s got a brother.” As it turns out, their story was virtually identical to Daisy’s – they had been abandoned at the end of their lives to die in the shelter. My heart knotted further. “Ok, let’s take a look,” I sighed.
Waif’s brother turned out to be a sister, completely blind, who was sound asleep in her cage. The shelter worker touched her, and she awoke, scanning the room with her sightless milky eyes and sniffing the air with a congested wheeze. She stretched and lay back down.
“Ok, I’ll take her,” I told the worker.
“You’re doing a good thing,” he replied.
I was not so sure, but I also knew I had no choice. My wife and I already cared for two other rescue dogs and two non-rescues, in addition to a rescue horse, three other horses, two goats, four fish and a frog. Our three new old additions to the family were all special needs dogs, and were going to require a tremendous amount of medical care and TLC. I was making a huge unilateral decision for our family, which is unheard of in our relationship.
“You did what??” my wife Laura said over the cell phone when I gave her the news as I drove home from the shelter with a carload of dog. Indeed I had, and when Laura saw Waif for the first time, she knew that she would have done the very same thing. Thankfully, I was not in the doghouse.
It’s been a few weeks and our three new charges are coming along nicely. Daisy’s rescue train came off the tracks, so Laura and I decided to keep her, at least for the time being. She appears to have been abused, and though she always wants to be near us, she is very nervous about being touched and often snaps. Given her needs, we did not want to give her up to anyone we had not personally met and trusted. We’re committed to spoiling her for the rest of her life, though we are willing to give her up to a loving family if the right one comes along (if you have a kind heart and a warm lap, please visit Daisy’s Dogster page ).
Waif indeed has a life-threatening heart murmur, though she is not yet showing the dreaded symptoms of congestive heart failure. She loves to putter around in the yard when we take her outside (all of our dogs live indoors with Laura and me).
We now call Waif’s sister “Snufulupagus,” because of her nasal congestion, probably due to an infection from rotted teeth and gums. All three dogs have terrible teeth, and Daisy had her few remaining removed by Dr. Bailey at Matilija Veterinary Clinic. Waif and Snuf are following suit this week and will be dining on soft food for the rest of their lives. Once Snuf recovers from her dentistry, she’s heading off to an eye clinic, where we are going to evaluate her options for restoring her sight. Meanwhile, she is becoming increasingly ambulatory, exploring the house, and learning where the walls and furniture are. Waif and Snuf always sleep together, and Waif cleans Snuf’s face and eyes every day. They seem genuinely happy to be reunited.
As for me, I light up when I see these dogs and know that they are happy, comfortable, and well fed. As is the case with our dogs, I’ve come back from the dark place where we all met for the first time, and I experienced the hopelessness and futility of what the shelter represented. There were some 200 animals in the shelter that day, and many had the same incomprehensible stories as Daisy, Waif, and Snuf. On days like those, if there are indeed a thousand points of light, it seems as though there must be a million darknesses. While I waited an eternity at the shelter for my dogs' paperwork to be shuffled around a classic municipal slate gray office, yet another frightened dog was led through the front door by his human, Sure enough, the following morning, the dog’s picture was on the shelter website.
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Comments (18)
What a great way to illustrate Bob Barker's mantra: Spay and neuter your animal companions. There are more than enough animals needing human love and care - we don't need anymore. If you think you are taking away an essential part of an animal's life by neutering or spaying, ask yourself what his/her children, grandchildren and great-great-great grandchildren will have to endure, how many of them will end up in shelters like the one Todd wrote about or simply abandoned outdoors to survive or not.
Comment #1 Posted by: heather | February 8, 2007 10:36 AM
Too many people get pets to satisfy an immediate need, not considering the long-term life-long commitment. There are no bad pets, just bad pet owners - many with a long history of having disposable pets who either end up in shelters, chained up in the backyard or dead on the side of the road. Then they have the nerve to go to the pet store and buy another puppy! So sad! You did a good deed.
Comment #2 Posted by: Lisa Snider | February 8, 2007 11:37 AM
That's a great gesture (three of them!) your family has made.
There is an opportunity to aid animals who need homes right in Ojai, too. The Humane Society located on Bryant Street always has many animals waiting for help -- there's even a dog named "Daisy" there right now, if you want to follow Todd(and family)'s lead! They actively promote spaying and neutering, as well as offering shelter to animals during emergencies such as the Day Fire, training, vaccine clinics.
Ojai's Humane Society sheltered five Katrina rescued dogs from Sept. 2005 into 2006, and we have one of them who, after a year of trust-building and training, is healthy, goofy, sorting out her trauma and enjoying a good life in Ojai Valley.
If you are at all interested, please go to:
http://www.humanesocietyvc.org/
Comment #3 Posted by: Elizabeth Bowman | February 8, 2007 11:56 AM
I'm not sure I agree with you, L. Snider. Sometimes people's lives change and they sadly must let their beloved pet go. Some folks do the right thing and find them a new loving home. I'm with you on the jerks who don't, tho.
Comment #4 Posted by: Linda | February 8, 2007 01:21 PM
I've grown up with dogs - we got our first dog, Patches, a dalmatian, when I was about five years old. As she got bigger and bigger over the next year, her energy increased accordingly and her tail, of all things, got more and more dangerous around my new little sister.
My parents made the extremely difficult decision to find a new home for her, and we placed her with a marathon runner that would take her out for 10 mile runs. We visited her once, and she seemed perfectly happy in her new home.
Sometimes, a pet and a family aren't a perfect fit. Unfortunately, some people are callous in how they handle those situations.
Comment #5 Posted by: Tyler | February 8, 2007 02:09 PM
There is a special place for Angels like Todd and his wife! I knew of this story and followed it from the phone call to Laura forward! How I wish there were thousands more Angels out there like these 2! The waif, Snuf and the Evil Diva will live out their lives surrounded by love! WELL DONE TODD!
Comment #6 Posted by: Sandi Voyles | February 8, 2007 03:26 PM
Todd and Laura- you guys are AWESOME!!! I am completely awed at how compassionate you are, to take in and care for three seniors, along with all the other furkids you have. Kudos to you and shame on all the idiots out there who think dogs are disposable.
Comment #7 Posted by: Tracy Rose | February 8, 2007 04:55 PM
Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for setting such a wonderful example of compassion and tenderness. May God bless you both!
Comment #8 Posted by: Lee Anne | February 8, 2007 05:50 PM
Todd and Laura, you're both such kind, loving (and articulate!) people... thank you for doing such a wonderful thing for these three girls :) I'm proud to know people like you!
Comment #9 Posted by: Kim | February 8, 2007 06:49 PM
Word of your extraordinary kindness, generosity and love for dogs - whether ill, old or damaged - has even reached San Diego! While I have only adopted one dog, my beautiful golden retriever, I have nothing but admiration for your love and care for Daisy, Waif and all of the others.
For the five years that I have had her, I am still astounded that anyone could have left her at a shelter, at age 3 - especially with the "explanation" that they were moving to northern California and having another child. My next question would have been "And why are you getting rid of this dog?"
However, their loss was defintely my gain. There is not a day that goes by that she does not make me laugh and keep a smile on my face! I even took her with me to Kenya in 2004 when I took a job there for about 14 months. While being locked in a kennel in the cargo hold in the plane was was very traumatic, she discovered that she enjoyed chasing monkeys even more than cats!
Great work, Todd & Laura, for a noble cause!
Comment #10 Posted by: David in San Diego | February 8, 2007 09:09 PM
If there are indeed a thousand points of light, you and Laura shine brightly among them as do all who rescue animals - whether it be from the so called "shelters" like the one you visited or through other means. I applaud your heart, your decision, and your willingness to take the heat from the wife if it went down badly. People like you make the world a better place.
Comment #11 Posted by: Rae Wagoner | February 9, 2007 05:59 AM
Thanks to both of you for your love for animals.
My husband and I work with teens and hear stories everyday, how children (humans) are treated in the same way.
May your compasion and love for these animals teach all of us how precious every living thing needs to be loved, cared for, hugs daily, and most important time!!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Comment #12 Posted by: Patty | February 9, 2007 07:23 AM
Reading a story like this makes me cry - every dog deserves a good life and your 3 senior girls will definitely have that.
I love the senior dogs too - I have 2 Dachshunds of my own and 2 fosters for Dachshund Rescue - all are ages 10 & 12 and are great little dogs! I've done dachshund rescue for 8 years and love doing the rescue work - though it's definitely more fun than work - and hope to continue for years to come.
You have my undying gratitude for saving those girls.
Comment #13 Posted by: Beverly | February 9, 2007 08:38 AM
I just discovered this post. It is very touching and loving in its context. However, in a larger context I have a different perspective and feeling.
I am not a pet person. Never had pets growing up. Am allergic to cats, and have a dislike for them due mainly to their being descendants of killers, and their practice of killing millions (or is it billions) of birds and other small creatures for sport. They have wiped out whole native populations.
In the much larger perspective, I believe animals should have been allowed to retain their dignity in the wild. Most human diseases come from domesticated animals. Domesticating animals led to meat eating (not dependent on hunting), even of pets, and thus contributed to planet imbalance.
Pets foster human love but unfortunately the dynamic on a global scale displaces human for human love, and uses up vast amounts of material and immaterial energy. Pet lovers oppose the violation of animal rights when they are abused in circuses but that is a logical result of making them pets in the first place.
I know this is an emotionally loaded topic but it is important in the context of the earth's danger of self-destruction. Pets are part of the problem. Like anything else, they need to assume their proper place, whatever that may be.
The unfortunate fate of the animals you describe has a cause, and unless that cause is honestly addressed, the suffering will only get worse. As before mentioned, the problem isn't really pets. It's the owners of pets.
Comment #14 Posted by: Dennis Leary | February 16, 2007 01:22 PM
To Dennis...Now I completely understand why you are such a freak. The above post says it all.
Comment #15 Posted by: Lorna Dune | February 17, 2007 09:09 AM
Regarding Dennis’ comment, I think it is first important to acknowledge that animals did not have an agenda to be domesticated by humans. Domesticating animals was a choice of humans, not animals. Regarding the notion of a collective human compassion quotient, I think the idea that pets are somehow siphoning off human love for humans is wrong. Dennis, I don’t think I would like you more if I didn’t have my animals. I don’t think I would love my wife more. I don’t think I would care for a greater number of people than I already do. I don’t think the human capacity for compassion has been depleted by animals. I think humans deplete their compassion all by themselves. Accordingly, I don’t think President Bush’s dog Barney can be blamed for the war in Iraq. I think Bush would have waged war with or without his Scottish Terrier at his side. Animals don’t make humans less than they are.
Comment #16 Posted by: Todd Miller | February 17, 2007 11:48 AM
I agree that humans are what they are in and of themselves. Animals should not be blamed for what humans do. Todd, you appear to be a rational human being. The post prior to yours resorts to ad hominem animal emotion. My point is that without pets as a distraction, some unbalanced humans might be more inclined to face themselves, and the problems of the planet. It's debatable, which is one reason for having posts like this. No need to bark at each other.
Comment #17 Posted by: Dennis Leary | February 20, 2007 02:53 PM
All I can think to say is that I wish there were more people like Todd and Laura! Dennis, open your eyes, Dogs and Cats are People Too! Our relationships with the animal kingdom bring out the best in us humans. My noble dog Beau was skin and bones by the time an animal rescue person brought him to my house one rainy Thanksgiving night. He embodies pure joy and unconditional love, as do my other four-legged-family members. Namaste.
Comment #18 Posted by: Suza | March 20, 2007 10:01 PM